(PRESS RELEASE / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
SLAVERY HISTORY … Bryan Rotary Club learned of efforts to save and recognize an abandon African-American cemetery of freed slaves in Defiance County. Sarah Marshall and Renee Hopper of the Defiance Public Library spoke about the Worthington Cemetery in Highland Township, south of Defiance. Archibald Worthington, a freed slave migrated to Ohio where he and his wife raised their children in Section 7 of Highland Township. He designated part of his land to be a cemetery for “his” people. Interments began in 1855 and continued until 1890. In the 1930s, a WPA project conducted Historical Records surveys, finding information on cemeteries and graves of veterans. Twelve tombstones were discovered then. The WPA was disbanded in the 1940s, but records were preserved. The mostly forgotten cemetery was recently discovered through efforts of volunteers using GPR, Ground Penetrating Radar, and search dogs trained to detect human remains and grave shafts. As many as 50 people were thought to be buried in the cemetery. There are no gravestones intact however, parts of markers have been found. After finding conclusive evidence of the cemetery, an Ohio Historical Marker will be placed on June 19 (Juneteenth). Pictured are Rotarian Jenny Horn, speakers Sarah Marchall and Renee Hopper.